There
are quite literally millions of Robert Wood reproductions dispersed
across America and around the world. Unfortunately, to the untutored
eye it may be difficult to discern one of these reproductions from
an original painting. Art dealers frequently receive calls from
people who believe they have inherited or found an original work
by Robert W. Wood. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases
their discovery is simply an old reproduction with a value of perhaps
a few dollars.

Robert
Wood reproductions come in many sizes and were printed on paper,
cardboard, and, in the 1970s and 1980s, even "transferred"
to canvas, making some of them even easier to mistake for an original
painting. Robert Wood reproductions were even available in nice
frames with brass title plates, giving them a more refined appearance.
There are literally millions of reproductions in circulation.

So,
the question arises as to how a print can be told from a real painting.
The first thing to note is that all the Robert Wood reproductions,
with the exception of the serigraphs done for American Express in
the early 1970s, were photo-offset reproductions. This means that
the method of printing is the same one used for the printing of
magazines. Thus, the easiest way to tell a reproduction is by using
a photographer's or jeweler's loupe or simply a magnifying glass
to examine the work in question. Under close examination, a reproduction
can be seen to be made up of tiny dots, as if it were a mosaic.
So if you see a pattern under magnification, what you have is a
reproduction. If, on the other hand, you can feel the brushwork
and textures of oil paint, what you have is likely an original painting.

Reproductions
also will have a title and perhaps an inventory number and the name
of the publisher in the white margin that may surround the image
or even on the edge or corner of the image itself.

However,
if you have determined that you have an original painting, that
still doesn't mean it is an authentic Robert W. Wood. If you would
like to have your painting examined to determine its authenticity,
you can have us examine and appraise it.

Example
of a print on canvas. Notice the uniform edge of the image and the
smooth surface without visible brush strokes.

The
back of an original Robert Wood. Most of his works are marked with
some version of the "Reproduction Rights" stamp visible
above and titled by hand. His works were only occasionally dated.